Ukrainian ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zwarycz appealed on Friday to Polish farmers to stop blocking Ukrainian border crossings. – Help Ukraine survive and defend itself and you against the Russian aggressor – he emphasized.
- On Thursday, protesting farmers blocked crossings in the province. Podkarpackie and Lublin. The protest, which is a warning and was to last 48 hours, applies only to trucks, passenger cars and coaches are allowed to pass.
- The crossings in Medyka and Korczowa in Podkarpacie and Dorohusk, Hrebenne and Zosin in the province are blocked. Lublin Province.
- On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed to protesting farmers not to block border crossings with Ukraine.
- Now the ambassador of Ukraine, Vasyl Zvarych, addressed them in a similar tone.
– I appeal to those Polish farmers’ organizations that continue to block freight traffic on sections of roads to individual border crossings with Ukraine, in particular in Medyka, Korczowa, Dorohusk and Hrebenny. Please hear the voice of your native Polish government if you still do not hear how Russian missiles are exploding in Ukraine, how they are mourning those who died as a result of Russian terrorist attacks on residential buildings, how the enemy is destroying critical infrastructure and the entire economy of war-torn Ukraine – wrote the ambassador in an appeal to farmers posted on social media.
According to him, the Polish government is currently supporting farmers and “making important decisions that help solve their urgent needs.”
It seems that there is probably no more privileged economic class in Poland today than farmers. The Polish government has created opportunities for the state to receive subsidies and direct payments. In the EU institutions, the Polish government managed to revise the provisions of the Green Deal and convince other EU countries to apply certain restrictions on trade with Ukraine, which will come into force from June this year. – he assessed.
Zwarycz noted that thanks to the actions of the Polish government, the EU will soon actually stop importing agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, which will open up new opportunities for selling Polish products in EU countries.
– Don’t believe the myths that Ukrainian grain is still flooding the Polish market. Since April last year, Ukraine has not sold wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower to Poland. There is a unilateral embargo on grain imports from Ukraine, extended by the Polish government. Transit through Polish territory is also practically limited to a minimum, and will soon expire because there are alternative routes bypassing Poland. And don’t believe the myths that the transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland causes problems for you. Transit goods do not remain in Poland. Polish ports are only charged by 60%. and you have every opportunity to export grain through your ports, Zwarycz appealed.
He emphasized that Polish services have strengthened control over the quality of products from Ukraine.
Although we have many questions why, among a large number of non-EU goods, such a scrupulous approach is applied only to Ukrainian goods, we do not protest because we understand how committed the Polish government is to protecting your interests. Finally, please believe that further blocking of the border with Ukraine is not only groundless, but also harmful to the Polish economy, without the development of which the possibilities of supporting you with additional subsidies will decrease – wrote the ambassador.
Ambassador of Ukraine: I am asking you to stop blocking the border
– I am asking you to stop blocking the border with Ukraine. Return to your families and to your professional activities, which we in Ukraine have always held in special respect. We have a common European future ahead of us. Together, we must harness the potential of cooperation and partnership for the benefit of our present and future generations. Help Ukraine survive and defend itself and you against the Russian aggressor. Our victory is a guarantee that a dirty Russian boot will never enter your home, and in Poland you will never hear the sounds of Russian missile explosions and tears for those who died in the war, Zwarycz noted.
Polish farmers, protesting at the border crossings with Ukraine, emphasize that they cannot sell their grain because the market is flooded with grain from Ukraine. In their opinion, the arrangements with the government from March this year are not implemented. Both parties – the government and the farmers – agreed, among others: maintaining the embargo on agricultural products from Ukraine and regulating trade relations with this country.
Tusk also appealed to farmers
After the informal summit of the European Council, the Prime Minister said that the situation on the Ukrainian front is critical and the coming weeks may decide the fate of the war.
Tusk assured that the government is prepared “to provide further forms of help for those who lost their lives in the war between Russia and Ukraine through no fault of their own.” – We cannot overheat this situation. Today we really cannot block Ukraine at our crossings. This is simply out of the question, said the head of government.